Jensen Contest File
Posted Sat, 07/20/2013 - 17:08 by sjensen1954
I tried to use a wide verity of texture, dynamics and techniques to give each song a unique feel. Most of the songs are recorded using a diatonic harmonica through an amp using second position but I also played some third position and acoustic harp to keep things fresh.
Scott Jensen
scott@theblueskyband.com
Comments
This is Rick Estrin - When you see jimsammy, it's me
It's good that you had a recurring theme for the intro verse on the first song. Some of the fills in the 2nd verse (the first verse of singing) sound a little pointless. When I don't have a feel or an idea for what fits, I'm always better off keeping it simple and focusing on the groove- more like you do on the 2nd and 3rd songs. On the slow number I would've liked the long "pads" played in a lower register. The last song worked the best for me. You had a good recurring theme going and stayed in the pocket.
Judging
Ditto on Gary's comments. First tune sounded good. Second tune had a nice chug going. Third tune could have used a riff based backing. Fourth tune worked fine.I felt stickng to a horn line on slow would have worked better & staying away from high note behind vocal would have been less distracting.
Judging
Song 1
CH1 - Cool that you didn't just play the same line on the IV Chord on the opening tune.
CH2 - Better if you start a little bit lower for the fills.
Song 2
Nice that you made the pattern not so cliche... we've all hear the other one way to much
Song 3
Has a nice old-timey feel. I would have started a little lower on the harmonica and then built up. When you're improving on the bottom notes, making a chug pattern without bent notes, it's easy to make a less-impress note selection... maybe chugging is not the best way to go... using more bluesy-based repetitive licks is the way to go for this tune.
Song 4
I would play that same 3 draw half step bend with a little 4 draw (slur it) to make it sound more meaty.
Song 5
CH1 - You generally did a good job playing between the guitarist... one spot you played over his lead lick... be cautious of that... in a live setting, your train of thought can get in the way of his train of thought.
CH2 - I like all of what you're playing except for the very highest notes... they grab too much attention (maybe octaves).
Song 6
I like your hook, but am not a fan of the slide from the 5 draw down to the 2 draw... if you used a 4' on the way down it would of sounded cooler to me.
Keep it, there's some good lick in here.
Nice job playing off the
Nice job playing off the vocals. Nice mix of sounds and positions. I liked the third position on the second to last song. Nice stuff!
Steve
Thanks Steve. I appreciate
Thanks Steve. I appreciate that. Glad you liked the third position on the second to last song. I was not sure if it would work well with the vocals.
Good job Scott , how did you
Good job Scott , how did you get the reverb into the jam track itself?
Reverb
Hi Brian
Thanks for the comment. For recording I ran the music clip through my PA Head and added some effects. My recording device was connected to the output of the head. The harp was played on a 1958 Premier Twin with a boss RV-5 Reverb pedal. I used an Audio-Technica condencor recording Mic connected directly to the recording device to record the harp.